The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1887-12-22
BACK IN DIXIE.
The Voyage Down the Mississippi
and the Exchange at
Vickshurc.

anu the G1cnaugs as
Vicksburr.
The Rebel Prisoners Again Take Up
Arms and go to Whipping
Yankees.
We left Memphis and steamed
down the river for Vicksburg with
light and happy hearts. Not far be-
low Memphis we met a little boat
which had come in contact with
some live rebels. Her pilot house
was riddled with minnies and sew
eral cannon shot had gone clean
though her rigging. She looked
very much torn up and we were
much interested in looking at her
and felt happy that our com
rades were still giving blow fol
blow. The federals thought it was
awful for the confederates to fire on
transports and on pioneer corps
building telegraph lines. They
thought that we would consider
such as non-combatants. Iremem.
Der an incident to the point: Just
before leaving Camp Douglass l
| went to the post Office and found
one of the clerks, very nice young
man, in tears, and upon inquiry
found his brother had been shot
from telegraph pole. near Moscow,
Tenn. ! honored him and felt
sympathy for him, but / also hon.
ored the southern hero who was
disputing every inch of the ground
1 the invaders trod. The yankee
asked me if | did not think his
| BROTHER HAD BEEN MURDERED.
| told him no, that war was war
and that this was but one of many
Incidents like it that would follow.
When we reached Helena we were
anchored out in the river in the
midst Of the yankee gunboats.
think that Of all clumsy, unman-
agabe things l ever saw, the Mis-
aissippi iron clad was the most
Their parts out of the water
looked like mansard roof over q
square pig pen, and they had about
as much action as raft with en-
| CINE and boilers placed on it. 1t
was really amusing to see them try
ing to turn them around. / remem-
Der one, the Cairo, which escorted
| us from Helena to Miliken's bend
| The pilot did not have any contro
of her at all, and / believe if the
current had not held her in the
channel, she would have run to the
bank and stuck her nose IN thu
mud; yet they were a great terro,
for while. While we anchored
just below Helena one of our guard
undertook to swim from the boa
| to the shore hut the current wa
too strong for him and ne strug-
| gled manfully but to no avail ant
was drifted down to small clum]
of cotton wood bushes, which b.
held on to until rescued by some o
the gun boats crew. After leavin.
Helena we saw
COFFINs FLOATING
in the river, and one of them witt
the top off and the corpse undecay
ed lying therein. A portion of
grave yard on the river bank hal
fallen in. We had now travele,
from Cairo to Helena and past Ma
polean, and while we had see
many groups of people on tn
banks and levies, yet we had see
no confederates with arms in thei
hands; but just as we approache
Lake Providence, Louisiana, on tn
west bank of the river, we saw
few scattered rebs on the levy.
wild rebel yell went up that almos
shook that mighty river. 1t wa
responded to from the shore, whe
regiment of confederate cavalr
showed themselves. They WEI
watching out for chance, Forres
like, to gobble up some unsuspec
ing yankee boat. We waved an
cheer as long as we could see eac
other. At last after many day
and nights of fatigue we reache
the point where we were to be ex
changed. We were in a very unit
dy condition, for we had been o
the river and cars for about tw
weeks and had no chance to was
or change clothing, and if tn
chance had appeared we had 4
clothing to wash or change as "
had our entire wardrobe on o,
backs. The vermin on the boz
were so terrible that many of I
slept on piles of stone coal an
thought the bed good one. ] re
member the last night we were c
the boat Booker Kennedy and
slept on the hurricane roof
The rain rather than sleep belo,
and in fact the whole of the hurr
cane deck and part of the top of tt
pilot house was used as bed
When we got on land the ne,
morning / suppose we were as III
promising looking soldiers as we
ever looked at-wet, dirty, blacl
ened with coal and with as mar
inhabitants on each of us as woul
make good-sized village, in trut
we were dilapidated looking lot
, men, yet beneath ali this dirt an
filth there beat as brave hearts .
ever .lived, proving the sub!in
truth otis the soul that make
The man, and not his outwal
seeming" The captain and lieu
tenants of the old regiment whe
landed met us with happy greet
ing, not all Of them, however, fo
some of them were
LEFT IN THEIR GRAVES
J in the prison land, among the nun
Der, Lieut.. Leon Black of our con
pany, a brave, chiyalrous, gentl
\ hearted man who had answered b
. last roll call on earth. Capt. Clac
OF our company was the most d.
lighted man | ever saw. He almo'